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We typically only hear news about startups successfully raising venture capital or getting acquired, but what about the ones that fail? No entrepreneur ever starts a company expecting to fail, yet over 80% of them do. Fear of failure is widespread and causes people a lot of anxiety and stress. But what if we learned to celebrate failure more? On a personal level, failure can be liberating and empowering. A learning experience and a compass for future self-development. Today’s guest Sapna Shah co-founded a startup that ultimately failed in 2013 causing her deep insecurity about her next career steps. After a serendipitous conversation advising a friend about a potential investment, she soon found herself becoming more interested in investing in startups. Today, she is a professional angel investor and founder of Retail X, an event series and community supporting retail founders. Sapna’s journey is a reminder that our failures can result in many unexpected benefits. She now has even more empathy for founders, and knows what it takes to support a successful company.